Originally posted by OCEANOS:
[b]Merry Meet An Eternal
Now,
Why not you start the ball rolling first by sharing about
yourself?
Blessed Be,
Oceanos[/b]
Ya.. sorry I was rushing out just now. I am very fortunate to be
able to take refuge at the age of 2 or 3 (in fact I cannot recall
my refuge ceremony as I was too young then). I was a late learner
then and while usually most others are able to talk fluently in
sentences by that age, I could only speak in broken words.. my
master (ven shen kai) smiled when he saw me, just touched my head
as blessing and then from that day on I could talk in fluent
sentences 
That
was I think 1992 or 1993, and unfortunately was the last time I met
him.
But I didn't get to really know Buddhism until a few years ago
about 12 years old I become more interested in the teachings...
that's about it, I have little experience as a Buddhist and I am
not very knowledgeable as well so if anything I have said in this
forum is inadequte or wrong or whatsoever do correct me.
My Buddhist Master received the Zen (Lin Ji/Rinzai) lineage, he got
two teachers, one is a Pure Land master which he learnt while in
China, later he moved to Taiwan and learnt from a Zen master. At
first he taught Pure Land Buddhism but he started to teach 'Ren
Cheng Buddhism' to the west due to the conditions and needs,
initially not under any sect name (Buddhism in the beginning did
not separate into different sects as well), but later due to
people's requests and so on, he gave it a name, "Wei Fo Zhong" or
"Buddha-only Sect". As you can see the name is quite general, but
points to the highest, ultimate goal that a Buddhist should aim to
attain..
See:
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/jencbuddhism.htm
Although the Five Vehicles of Buddhism are means through which one
attains Buddhahood, they were expediently taught by Sakyamuni
Buddha according to the capabilities of the sentient beings. In
reality there is only one vehicle that leads to Buddhahood as is
stated in the Lotus Sutra, "In the domain of the Buddhas of the ten
directions, there is only One Vehicle of Buddha-dharma, not two nor
three, for the rest were taught expediently by the Buddha."
The world that we live in is centred around human beings. We are
human beings and so are the practitioners of the other vehicles of
Buddhism. The Bodhisattvas are also human beings. Sakyamuni Buddha
became Buddha by cultivating as a human being. Not only did
Sakyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood as a human being, so did the
previous four Buddhas of this earth. Maitreya Bodhisattva, the
Buddha to be, and the remaining nine hundred and ninety-five
Buddhas will also
become Buddhas by cultivating as human beings. Thus, Jen Chen
Buddhism or the Humanity Vehicle Buddhism, is that vehicle that
leads humanity to the Supreme Enlightenment.
Jen Chen Buddhism pays homage to its founder, Sakyamuni Buddha, and
practises the deeds of all the Bodhisattvas. It promotes the
teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha and emphasises the purity of our
thoughts, speech and actions as the fundamental of cultivation. The
corner stones of Jen Chen Buddhism are to observe the Five
Precepts, the Ten Virtuous Deeds, the Noble Eight-fold Path, and to
conduct our lives with dignity and morality so that we may be
reborn in the human realm to advance our cultivation, life after
life. It is only in the human realm that we have any hope of
becoming enlightened.
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/venmast.htm
Venerable Shen-Kai was born in the year 1918 in Kui-Zhou, China. In
his early years he studied many religions, but he was so inspired
by what the Buddha taught that he decided to promote Buddhism and
became ordained as a Buddhist monk.
Venerable Shen-Kai perceived that many people had difficulty
understanding the Buddhas teachings because they were often
treated with mystery and complexity. As a result, they are
apprehensive about it. Buddhism became neglected on one hand, or
treated as a subject of academic research on the other. The general
public could not attain the maximum benefit that Buddhism has to
offer. In view of the situation, Venerable Shen-Kai felt that there
is an urgent need to correct this misconception by presenting the
Buddhas teaching in a way that is easily acceptable to the people.
Since the Supreme Enlightenment or Buddhahood is attained by
cultivating from the human realm, Venerable Shen-Kai emphasises
that as human beings we need to embark on the Vehicle of Buddhism
that is most suited for human beings if we are to be realistic
about being enlightened ourselves. That vehicle is the Humanity
Vehicle Buddhism. Thus, he founded World Jen Chen Buddhism.
The Venerable vows to return to this world life after life to
promote Jen Chen Buddhism so that we can purify our mind, and
create a bright and blissful life. In his effort to uphold the
morality and dignity of humanity, he travelled widely to deliver
Dharma talks in many countries He illustrates that the principles
of Jen Chen Buddhism are compatible with the natural capacities of
humanity and also fulfill the needs of the modern times. Through
these efforts, the Venerable hopes that we all can benefit from the
teachings, unfold our wisdom and follow the practices of all
Bodhisattvas until we become Buddha ourselves.
As the teacher of World Jen Chen Buddhism, Venerable Shen Kai,
encourages one and all to seek enlightenment, and to work in unison
to guide every human being to emulate the Bodhisattvas, to be
Bodhisattvas themselves, and to promote the Bodhisattva-Humanity
Vehicle Buddhism to all sentient beings life after life.
Venerable Shen-Kai departed from this world on August 4, 1996 in
California, USA. He left a legacy of books and publications on the
teachings of Jen Chen Buddhism for humanity, dozens of Jen Chen
Buddhism promotion missions and many disciples, both members of the
Sangha and lay-Buddhists to continue to promote a Bliss Culture for
humanity around the world.
